The Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to develop medical colleges through public-private partnerships has come under fire from the Opposition YSRCP, with Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party accusing the N Chandrababu Naidu government of privatising medical education.
Chief Minister Naidu said at least 10 government medical colleges would be established under the PPP model, but emphasised that these colleges would not be handed over to private parties.
However, YSRCP leader and former minister R K Roja accused Naidu of lying about the PPP model. Poining out that medical colleges at Machilipatnam, Vizianagaram, Nandyal, Markapur, Piduguralla, Bapatla, and Pulivendula were either completed or close to completion under former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government, she said, “Naidu and his ministers are lying that the YSRCP government did not bother to complete construction of the medical colleges. They just want to privatise them all.”
Another YSRCP leader, former deputy Speaker Kona Raghupathi, said, “During Jagan’s tenure (as CM), seven colleges were fully constructed, five have already started classes, and the rest were nearing completion. In contrast, the current coalition government has halted construction for 15 months and is now shamelessly preparing to privatise these institutions. Jagan took the decision to establish 17 new government medical colleges, guided by NITI Aayog’s proposal for one college in every parliamentary constituency. This was not a political move, but a social responsibility — to ensure free healthcare for the poor and accessible medical education for students.”
Chief Minister Naidu maintained that the government would retain full control of the medical colleges. “The medical colleges will not be handed over to private parties. We are providing only land. By developing them under PPP, we are ensuring that the government does not face any financial loss, but will retain complete control and oversight of the colleges. The PPP model ensures efficiency and accountability,” Naidu said.
The CM argued that when medical colleges fail to function properly due to a crisis in funding, students and health services suffer. “With PPP, we are bringing justice to medical students and improving health services,” he said.
‘OP services to remain free’
Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav said that outpatient services in the PPP medical colleges would be free, like at all the other government medical colleges. “The NTR Vaidya seva facility, which provides free treatment for eligible beneficiaries, will also be available,” he said.
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Yadav said that at least four new medical colleges would be established by next year. He claimed that the PPP model was proposed due to the failure of the previous YSRCP government.
“The YSRCP government proposed to set up 17 medical colleges, but only five became operational. It has created a lot of problems for students who were expecting seats. We are trying to ensure that as many medical seats as possible are available in the state,” he said.
“YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s allegations that we are handing over medical colleges to private parties are absolutely false. Jagan’s plan to set up 17 government medical colleges failed as construction did not progress due to the non-allocation of funds. Of the approximately Rs 8,500-crore budget for the 17 colleges, only Rs 1,451-crore was allocated,” he said.
The TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh had set a target of providing 2,550 MBBS seats by 2025-26, but due to poor infrastructure in some of the colleges set up previously, it could not be achieved, officials claimed. Yadav pointed out that the medical college set up at Paderu was supposed to admit 150 students, but only 50 were admitted as the infrastructure was not ready. The National Medical Commission’s new guidelines mandate that admissions can be started only after all the infrastructure is in place.
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Yadav said there was a difference between PPP and privatisation, as under PPP, the government retains full control despite investment being made by private players. “Very huge investments are required to set up medical colleges, and under the given circumstances, PPP is beneficial and prudent. There is no restriction on admissions, and the fee structure under the PPP model is also the same as other colleges. The financial condition of the state is not very good, and the government cannot make such huge investments,” he said.
